Delphine's Tear
by Musicismyblood
Summary: Okay, I get that I've got a god possessing me and I'm supposed to save the world. But, what's the Delphine's Tear? AU-ish. Close to the books as possible.
1. Somewhere In Brooklyn

**THIS IS THE EDITED VERSION! THE ORIGINAL ONE NO LONGER EXISTS! EVEN THOUGH I ALREADY PUT OUT CH.1 AND AM WORKING ON CH.2 I FEEL LIKE THIS WAS CRAPPY AND HAVE DECIDED TO EDIT IT! Hey this _is_ MY story and I have the power to edit it. So. WHAT. NOW.**

**I know I have other stories to update, but this idea's been stuck in my head for like...forever so I thought I'd publish it. Yes it's another Kane meets PJO story, but this one will be awesome. Oh and if you're into Maximum Ride I made one of those, check it out. Music, out.**

**Disclaimer:I'm not Rick Riordan, I'll tell you right now.**

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><p>(Ami POV)<p>

"Now, class for toay's lesson we'll be studying Egyptian culture. Turn your eyes to the board..." I sighed, last period is always the most boring. One interesting part of Mr. Boring's-that's his real name-**(My mom works at Shands and had a patient named Mrs. Boring. Cool right?)** lecture caught my attention.

"The Egyptians were at their height of power when the the Greeks **(hint,hint)** were. So as a result they were often confused. An example would be the eygytian god Thoth and the greek god Hermes. " Hmmm... I feel like I'm forgetting something. Oh! That's right. I'm supposed to go to work today. How mythology reminds me of work, you'll find out soon enough. Agh! _When will class end?_

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><p>"Hey Ami!" I turned, swivling my head like an owl looking for the source. My name is Amity(am-i-teh) but apparently that's too <em>forgein<em> for Americans so my friends call me Ami. When it got changed to that I have no idea. I saw Nico running down the hall and returned taking books and stuff out of my locker. "Yo." I raised an eyebrow at his position-bent down, his hands on his knees. The black backpack carelessly swung on his shoulder unhooked itself and slid down Nico's arm until it was stopped by the contact of Nico's hand on his knee, all while Nico tried to catch his breath. "Dude you do know that you still have to pant like a pathetic puppy?" He glared at me, "I bet you couldn't do better with you and your harshness."

I took out a bottle of spray paint-don't ask-and slung my backpack over my shoulder,"What do you mean? I call it a lack of pity. And I could actually."

"A souless lack maybe." Nico muttered, sulky, "What's that for?" he studied the spray paint bottle cautiously. I don't blame him, I mean the last time I got hold of spray paint I...never mind. But in my defense I WAS 4 I DIDN'T KNOW ANY BETTER! "Thank you for your flattering words and it's not for you. Unless you make me mad."

"Wh-"

"You're making me mad." I grinned at his confusion. I wasn't really mad at him; I just needed to get some exercise.

"What? Bu-I didn-" He stuttered.

"Better start running." I said sing-songingly **(Yes that's a word. Shut up.)**

Nico took off before I even finished my sentance. I smirked, sprinting to catch up with him.

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><p>Panting, we settled on the soft, springy grass, leaning our backs on a oak tree. I put the spray paint in the pocket thing meant for water bottles. Nico noticably relaxed. "Hey Nico." I nudged his leg with my foot, he was starting to nod off.<p>

"Huh, what?"Nico started a little,"So as I was saying before you interuppted me, you want to know why I was out of breath?" I realize that you may think of me as a bad person from now on, but I snorted at his stupidity. Really, _he almost fell asleep_. What would he do without his friends?

I sighed, "Why?"

"I searched all over school for you." He said proudly.

I snorted again, "Why would you go _everywhere_ when I'm obviously in _one place_? Seriously only idiots wold do that."

"Hey, I do that."Nico defended, "Point proven." I looked at him like, _duh_. Suddenly a Maserati Spyder pulled up, "Finally." I muttered. Nico raised an eyebrow skeptical, "It's _still_ a Maserati?" I rolled my eyes, "It's _always_ been a Maserati. Come on," I waved my hand, already walking towards the car. "Hey wait up!" He shouted.

Rolling my eyes, I yelled over my shoulder,"Make me!" I swung myself over the top, right over the door. Next to me a "teenager" was listening to an iPod, relaxing. "Sup, Polly. We have a problem." He opened an eye, lazily, "I told you to stop calling me that. What problem?"

"First, that is but a dream that will never come true _Polly_," I emphasized Polly on purpose. "And second-"

"I'm coming too."Nico bowed, "Lord Apollo." Then he hopped on the car right behind the seats. **(Look at a Maserati Spyder and you'll get it.)**

I grinned cheekily, which goes to show you Karma really does exist. The next words Apollo, or as I like to call him, Polly, said wiped the smile right of my face. "We don't have enough seats,...Nico you'll just have to share a seat with Ami-"

"What?" We cried in unison**(unision?)**,"what" did not even begin to convey my feelings. I was a _15-year-old teenage girl _and he was a_ 15-year-old teenage boy_, did-for the sake of the occasion-Apollo not see this? "Or,"Apollo continued, undeterred, "one of you could get into the trunk."

"_Or_ you could change the car into something that actually has _at least_ three seats." I snapped. "Nope. I hate traveling out of sports car mode." Apollo shrunk away from the murderous look I was giving him. "You did it for Percy and the Hunters." I accused.

"Yeah, but _Percy's_ the hero of Olympus. And I can't cram four children of the Big Three plus the Hunters into a sports car without getting yelled at by at least one god."

"So you'd put me in a seat."

"Yes."

"With him."

"Yup."

"Instead of changing your car."

"Affirmitive."**(How the heck do you spell that word?)**

"You**-**"

"Do it." He poked me.

"No."

"Do it." He poked me again.

"No."

"Do it." He poked me three times. This was starting to get annoying.

"Will you stop poking me if I do?"

"Yup."

My willpower crumbled,"Agh! Fine! Come on, Nico." I patted the free space on my seat, staring at Goode High's inhabitants like it was the most interesting thing on earth. I hoped I wouldn't have to look at Nico. Feeling the seat bounce was kinda fun, I remember doing it all the time when I was little, but now it was just awkward. The only thing going through my mind? _Dear gods don't let anyone see us, dear gods don't let anyone see us..._

I should probably explain some of the things going through your head.

(A) I am a demigod, a daughter of Poseidon, Nico is a demigod, a son of Hades.

(B) Apollo is a GOD. Quite literally mind you.

(C) We are going to Olympus, mainly because I go to work in a cafe on Olympus.

(D) Yup, I go to work on a cafe on Olympus.

(E) Yes, Olympus has cafes.

(F) NICO IS NOT MY BOYFRIEND! Nor will he ever be.

(G) I hope you know Greek Mythology.

(H), There's a lot of points. Hmph, stupid ADHD making me go off track...wait what were we talking about?

Anyways we were so close our sides were touching no matter how far we tried moving away from each other, right about then I wished I was small again so I could actually move away from him_ and get results. _Then again, had I been little, I wouldn't think of the situation as awkward and uncomfortable. I don't know what Nico was thinking but personally, I couldn't help but curse the not-very-unfortunate-in-my-opinion-god who put us in this situation.

Turns out Polly was able to break the silence, "Ami it's not that bad, stop cursing." He smirked, amused at our situation. He looked _way_ too happy for someone who was getting insulted every three seconds.

"If you don't take that smirk off your face _right now _I'll come over there and wipe it off for you Polly." I threatened, very irritated.

Let me teach you a quick math lesson.

I know what you're thinking, _I didn't come here for math, I get/got enough of that at school._ Well this is a short equation, so shut up. Here it is:Irritated Ami+smirking Apollo=Beaten and bloody Apollo.

So when Polly refused, I scrambled over Nico's lap awkwardly. I could have just hit Polly reaching over in front of Nico but my blows would have been weak then. Before I could beat the crap out of Polly, Nico wrapped his arms around my waist, effectively holding me down as well as hugging me. Struggling to get out of his grasp, I realized he had taken the whole seat so I was sitting in his lap now. _The Fates hate me. What did I do to piss them off this bad? _I mentally sighed, my life sucks.

"Nico let go!"

"No! I'm not letting you kill our driver!"

"Well I'm gonna! F-"

"In case you haven't noticed we are currently a couple hundred feet in the air! So I'd like to stay alive if you don't mind!"

I froze, "We're in the air."

"Yes. We are." Nico spoke like he was talking to a mentally retarded person.

I scowled, "Why are we not dead?" Yeah, our _dear_ and _loving_ uncle-Zeus tends to blast any other Children of the Big Three out of the sky.

He shrugged, "Don't know.''

"You're _so_ helpful."

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><p>So long story short, after my shift was done, Nico shadow traveled us to Percy's house, which is where we crash during the school year, Percy's mom-or Sally as she makes us call her-was surprisingly willing to lend the apartment that Percy, Paul, <em>and<em> she inhabited to two more. Even if we have to sleep on the couches, we're still grateful.

We don't go to our own homes mainly because we don't have mortal parents. I mean Nico's mom died like 70 years ago and mine...she abandoned me once my dad left her. Yes I know, it's not cool for a mother to just leave her child like that. But it's the truth.

You may be wondering what I did to the spray paint. I graffitied Polly's car with it! No I'm just kidding. I decorated Percy's door in blue with it, even added that special Poseiden child touch to it. _I_ did it because Percy has _no_ artistict ability. Like none _at all_.

We ate dinner and me, Percy, and Nico spent _three_ grueling hours doing homework. THREE HOURS. So as a result, Percy was seen stumbling to his room-poor high-school senior sucker. Meanwhile Nico decided to take a nightly stroll, I tagged along. Oh how I wished I hadn't gone with him.

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><p>We wandered around for a <em>long<em> time and got ourselves lost, eventually I dipped my fingers in a river to find out we were in Brooklyn. Inborn sense of direction indeed.

"Okay, we need somewhere to stay." Nico deadpanned. I glared at him, "No dip, Sherlock," I don't recomend getting lost late at night with me. I get really cranky. I looked up, there was a old warehouse. Above it through the Mist, I saw a mansion. A _mansion_. "Come on, let's see if we can stay in there." I pointed at the mansion. He squinted at it, "Uhh...I don't see it."

"Ugh, never mind! Just come on!"I grabbed his cold hand, and almost let go. I know that Hades's**(try saying that)**children don't generate as much body heat as regular people do, but it's still a shock to feel it every once in a while. I dragged him roughly up...and up...and up. By the time we got to the door we were more exahuasted than we have been in some time. After knocking on the door, a African-American boy opened up and let us in. Did I mention Nico and I were ready to drop by then? I dimly remember being rushed up to a room, showering, and going to bed in a oversized shirt some blonde girl gave me.

If only I knew what was going to happen next.

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><p><strong>Whew, first chapter done. Good? Not good? I need to know. Tell me what you think. Construtive critisism and all that good stuff. I personally think I used the <em>italics<em> too much. But hey, _italics_ are my thing. **

**Next chapter:Nico and Ami meet the gods they'll soon be hosting! **

**Um...that's it. Music, out. :)**


	2. Breakfast Voices

**Yeah I don't wanna update my other story so this won out by default. If you read the end author's note of Ch.1, Nico and Ami meet their future gods that turn them into godlings.**

***someone blows a party blower unenthusiastically* *me just as unenthusiastic* Whew. Yeah. **

**So I have a little question for you:Who's your fave charecter and/or couple from PJO? Just curiosity, nothing too big. Music, out. :)**

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><p>(Ami POV)<p>

It's official, I have the worst luck ever. First, I can't even get a good night's sleep-course I'm a demigod, we _never_ get a good night's sleep, and after I have wake up from my not-so-good-sleep things go downhill very, very, very fast and spiral into one of those days that make me want to scream at someone. Though ever since the "Battle for Olympus" issue was resolved, my days have been pretty peaceful.

That night, crashing in a stange bed I didn't know, I had a "dream" so vivid and crazy, all other demigod dreams seem insignificant compared to it. I still don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. Interestingly enough, Nico di Angelo was in it. I know normally when teenage girls reach "that age" ,as Hermes once put it, they start dreaming about boys, but this was different. Demigod dreams are either out of body experiences or visions. In this case it was a out of body experience.

Let's just say, that night, my life changed forever. And that's saying_ a lot_.

Lucky me.

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><p>Walking through a hallway I don't know practically screams trouble. Especially if it reeks of death.<p>

Striding casually, I spotted Nico a few paces ahead of me. As if I explored places of death everyday, I caught up to him. We forged ahead together.

"Come forth and be weighed!" A voice boomed like thunder, the sheer soung bounded off the walls. I saw a man, he would have been normal had he not been twelve feet tall and had a _dog's head_.

"Ummm..."I started, not knowing what the Hades he was talking about. I mean "come forth and be weighed"? Buddy are you _trying_ to get girls to hate you? I know how much I weigh, but thanks for the offer.

Nico snorted, " You have a way with words."

"Thank you for your kindness." I said sarcastically.

"Anytime."

Suddenly Dog Head Guy noticed us and changed into a more presentable form-a teenager who disturbingly resembled Nico.**(_So?_ What if I'm not original all the time?) **His lips bent into a frown, and as if we weren't there (which we technically weren't) he muttered to himself, "They aren't supposed to be here."

Then, as if the Fates decided the situation wasn't confusing enough, a teenage girl materialized out of fricking _nothing_ and intently studied us. After what seemed like an eternity, but what was probably only a few minutes, she spoke, "No, they aren't."

The guy looked startled, and I blinked, that was the exact same face I made when I was alarmed a lot, but trying to hide it. That had to be a coincidence. Right?

"You did not bring them here?"he demanded.

"No!"The girl cried indignantly, "Why would I purposely bring trouble to our doorstep?"

"Well someone did." They both looked strangely calm for people with "trouble" right in front of them. Being called trouble. Well, I'd been called worse names before. Getting back on topic, these teenagers were probably not even human, explaining the unnatural serenity.

"That's great. Now if you could just show us the exit..."I trailed off, unnerved. These people were starting to creep me out. Holding Nico's arm tightly I tugged him back, inch by inch.

They reached out hands, to stop us I presume, and as the girl's hand clasped my shoulder my body jolted violenty, waking me from my disturbing slumber.

I snapped up from the soft sheets, breathing heavily. Well at least we were shown the way out. I managed to kick the sheets off before I realized I was _not_ on the couch in the Jackson apartment, and there was _not_ any Mrs. Jackson greeting me warmly from the kitchen with breakfast.

Suddenly last night rushed back to me. The walk, getting lost, and finding a gravity-defiying mansion above a old warehouse. Where in Hades was Nico?

But a more important question was, where was _I_?

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><p>I explored downstairs, taking in the giant bird?-headed statue in a <em>huge<em> room, the heavily chained doors, hmmm...note to self:when I have time, break down chains to see what's on other side.

Hmm there's the-mouth-watering smells wafted up to my nose and all thought fled my brain. _Breakfast! _Nothing not even my ADHD could kept on the sole thought of breakfast.I tore towards the smell like there was no tommorow_. _Yeah so _maybe_ I'm ruled by my stomach like boys are. So what?

There I found one of my two questions. Nico was glaring surlily**(It's a real word. Trust me, _I'm_ the one who looked it up.)**at nothing in paticular. I wondered what the air had done _now_ to get on Nico's bad side.

Those thoughts werre quickly pushed away as I spotted the thing behind him-a buffet table practically snapping from the weight of all the food.

"Dear gods, thank you."I whimpered. I was starved to death even though I ate McDonalds last night. I shook my head, _I was just as bad as Percy_.

I piled my plate higher than Mount Olympus before I left satisfied. Sitting down, I snapped my fingers in front of Nico's face, making him focus his glare on me.

"Dude, chill. You enforce your emoness when you make that face." I remarked,"Also you have food right in front of you. _Eat it_."

That got to him,"For the last time, I. AM. NOT. EMO."

I raised an eyebrow, "_Suuuuuuure_. Whatever floats your boat Death Breath."

"Water floats my boat. Which is why I don't go on them." Wimp. The water wasn't going to harm him. Unless Daddy just happens to watching that paticular area. But as long as he was with one of Daddy children i.e. me and/or Percy he would be fine. Of course there's-Brain, FOCUS!

I nudged him, "Eat."

He looked down at his food with hate. "Don't want it, you?"

I eyed my mountain of food,"Nah, I'm good."I decided."You eat it."

"No."

I looked pointedly at him,"We're gonna have _this_ conversation again?"

"Yup." He refused to meet my eyes. Mhm, he better be scared.

I sighed, frustrated,"Nico,"I warned,"eat or be force-fed."

"You wouldn't."He said, fully knowing I would.

"Wanna try me?"

"No I'm eating."

Satisfied, I delved**(lol funny looking word)**into my own food.

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><p>Meanwhile...<p>

(Sadie POV)

Our uncle was giving us a _lovely_ speech on gods and our dad when I noticed in the corner of my eye a figure slipping by and getting food. I kept watching her out of the corner of my eye so Amos would think I was still listening to him. She-I had determined it was a girl-sat down next to a another person I hadn't noticed. They must have been the two who came to the door yesterday. Amos had been in the forbidden chained room when they had knocked, so Carter used his magical levitating trick and let them in.

Khufu had seemed uneasy seeing them, but he still gave us directions where to put them. And by that I mean he pointed upstairs, grunted three times, pointing left, and pointed to a door. At least the baboon _tried_ to translate.

I hold grudges against him for leaving us to half _drag_ them to their rooms.

My sleep last night had been...not the best with the weird pillow, but at least I hadn't been stupid enough to sleep without it. Unlike my idiot brother.

I was pulled out of my musing of how much of an idiot my brother was by a voice,"-Adie. Sadie. _Sadie_. SADIE, SNAP OUT OF IT!"

I glared, rubbing my abused ear, "_Ow, _Carter."

He shrugged, "Not my fault."

Amos tapped us on the shoulder, interuppting us,"Sadie, who are those people?"

I glanced at where he was pointing,"Oh, those are the people who came last night."

"Do you know their names?"

Carter shrugged,"Don't know, they looked like they would drop right then and there so we consentrated more on getting them in rooms then getting their names."

We watched them push each other in the shoulder, laughing. Suddenly they stopped, realizing we were watching them.

I studied them, the boy looked a bit like that really cute guy that I had seen**(I don't remember when Sadie first sees Anubis and honestly I'm too lazy to check. I'm pretty sure it comes later though. Eh. Not that I care. I do what I want.)**in my dream. The girl started walking towards us, closing in the small distance between us and them. The girl wasn't too bad looking, with flowing jet-black hair that reached her chest, a tan-which contrasted with the boy's pale skin, and ripped jeans with a shirt that read "Me:like you, only better". I approved her style. But when she got near enough, her eyes startled me. They were chocolate brown but there was a ring of jade circling the outside of the brown, making it a little disorienting. Her eyelashes were insanely long. Obviously she had been gifted in the eye department.

"They reek of god." Amos muttered.

"Excuse me,"the girl smiled politely,"can you tell us where we are 'cause we're lost."

(Ami POV)

"Excuse me,"I asked, trying to force my lips into a polite smile. To my surprise it might have actually worked,"can you tell us where we are 'cause we're lost." It was the truth I had no idea how Nico and I had gone from Manhattan to Brooklyn. It was a getting lost accomplishment.

(_**Bold italics**_ is Ami,_ italics_ is voice in head)

_Yes, yes you are_. _You are _very_ lost._ A voice said in my mind. I blinked, startled, **_Oh my gods I've lost it._** I thought.

_No you haven't. You remember that dream you had last night?_

**_What about it?_**

_Well you remember the girl?_

**_Yes? _**I thought uncertainly.

_Yeah, that's me._

_**What? No you're not. You're the voice in my head that's telling me I'm finally crazy.**_

_Nice to meet you too._ The voice sounded annoyed. _My name is Almira._ _I have no idea how you managed to become my host but trust me I would get out if I could._

_**You and me both.**_ Can you mutter in your mind? Because if so, that's what I did. _**I'm Ami. **_Am I crazy introducing my self to a voice in my head? Yeah, guess I am.

Bringing myself back to Earth, I only heard half of what the African-American jazz playing dude had to say. Shame.

Suddenly I crumpled to the ground. The last thing I saw before blacking out was Nico next to me-when did he get there?-collapsing to the ground as well.

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><p><strong>Cliffhanger! Don't I just love you so much?:) <em>No<em>? Alright fine. Meanies.**

**God(s) I'M SO MAD THE TITLE FOR CH.1 WAS SUPPOSED TO BE "I don't recommend getting lost(with me)" BUT SOMETHING MESSED UP AND NOW IT'S "I don't recommend getting lostwith me" GRRR. Oh i just realize you can just edit it. Ehehehe. Never mind.**

**Advice: If you have never listened to one of Megan Nicole's cover and/or heard of Megan Nicole, stop whatever you're doing and look up her cover on Just a dream by Nelly it's FANTASTIC! but first you should review. Because of 4 reasons. inspires me, B.I update faster, and makes me feel like I'm not writing in vain.**

** *friend walks in randomly*Wat'cha doing.**

**Me:updating**

**Friens:*looks it over* you listed three points.**

**Me:So?**

**Friend:You said "Because of 4 reasons"**

**Me:*Starts fake crying*stop pressuring me!**

**Friend:I can totally tell that's fake**

**Me:d-(censored for the littler ones)- you**

**friend walks away to...do his own thing (I'm a girl. I have a guy friend. Who magically popped over to my house through the power of FF.I can harness the power of FF to my will. Oh yeah, be jealous.**

**Have a nice day! God(s)-(the s is for those PJO fans. which is basically everyone here.)I sound like a shopping bag with the "Have a nice day" written on it.**

**Music, out. :) **


	3. Head Talk

**Why's the disclaimer always at the end?**

**Disclaimer:The disclaimer does not have to be at the end! I'm sad I don't have the Son of Neptune with me right now. If I want the Son of Neptune, then do you honestly think I own Percy Jackson?**

**Thought so.**

**So now that that's over, I want to say, I'M SO SORRY. I feel horrible cause I didn't update when I thought I would. I had two projects to finish, I went to Seaworld, I got a iPad, and on top of everything, I have to write a essay about a kid with AIDS trying to attend a public school. Yeah, I know, fun. There's just been a lot going on lately. Now that the guilt factor's been announced, how many of you got the Son of Neptune book when it came out, like a nerdy dude I know did? No offense but he's just really nerdy. It bothers me.**

**First time writing in a guy's POV. Hope it's good. Fingers crossed, people.**

**Ok so now that that's out of the way, this is chapter...3, I think. Music, out. :)**

**Wish me luck with the essay while you read this VERY over-due chapter!**

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><p>(Nico POV)<p>

What's the weirdest thing that you've woken up to? Let me tell you, there are some pretty weird things I've woken up to, but the prize goes to: "Owwwwwwwwwww." Incidentally, that was the first thing I heard regaining consciousness. Weirdest thing to ever hear first thing in the morning.

Is it morning? It had to be. I had to be on the couch in the Jackson apartment, needing to go to school today with Ami. Where's Am-wonder what Percy's mom made for breakfast today. Maybe she made blue waffles. Mmmm, blue waffles. Why is the couch so hard? And cold? No, no, focus.

Ami.

Where was she? My eyes fluttered open to see Ami rubbing her head, a scowl set deep into her face. I sighed, relieved. Who knows, with a demigod's luck, she could have been captured by...anything really. When you're a demigod, you lose surprise in these things. Trust me.

I grunted, pulling myself off the ground to sit, "What happened?"

Ami scanned our surroundings, "I don't know but we're back. Look. And what is _that_?" She pointed in front of us where the dude in black from earlier was petting a lion...hippo...thing the size of a poodle. And that wasn't the weirdest part. The girl in black was struggling with a giant bag of cat food and failing. She was leaving a thin trail of cat food behind her.

"That thing eats_ cat food_?" Ami asked incredulously.

He stood up and glared, "Ammit doesn't _need_ cat food, but he likes it." Defensive.

"He's gonna get fat soon, Anubis!" The girl called from over by the lion/hippo. "And then_ how_ is he supposed eat souls when his stomach is cluttered up with cat food?"

Anubis scowled, "Shut up! Anyways we have limited time here. We just wanted to tell you, you won't be able to operate your bodies for...20 minutes?" The girl gave a strained nod, trying to keep Ammit from jumping into the bag and feasting in cat food paradise, while he went on,"Twenty minutes. Due to...difficulties."

Needless to say, I was alarmed. "Difficulties?"

I glanced at Ami and she looked a little freaked out too.

Anubis suddenly became shifty, "Umm..." He shifted from one foot to the other, making himself look very, very guilty. "No reason." Oh yes, because we all know shifting from foot to foot is the very picture of innocent.

"I see spending millenias alive has not improved your lying skills," the girl remarked dryly.

Before the boy could make a scathing reply, Ami interrupted hesitantly, "Umm...I'm getting kinda annoyed referring to you guys as "the girl" and "the boy", so can you tell your names?"

I looked at her, long and hard, wondering if she really had just said that. Then I burst into a long round of laughter. Beside me I heard her laugh a little too. Huh. Laughter must be contagious.

When I composed myself enough to stop laughing and sat up, I saw the boy and girl looking at each other in confusion. _Ami's right_, I decided, _that does get a little annoying._

"Well then," the guy said awkwardly, "I'm Anubis, and this," he gestured toward the girl,"is Almira. Under his breath he added, "My pain in the butt sister."

I snorted, at least he still _had_ a sister.

Anyways, back on track. Have you ever tried keeping on one subject when you're a demigod and have ADHD? It's the hardest thing to do ever. Fighting monsters? Eh, a daily hobbie.

Sparring with real, sharp swords? No prob.

Staying on task when ADHD is on duty? Oh shit, everyone's screwed.

"What difficulties?" I pressed again.

"Well," Anubis shifted his feet, not wanting to meet our eyes, "we now inhabit your bodies, so...we'll be taking over to explain everything. Right now, those...magicians are trying to bring you into consciousness."

Alarm overwhemled me so that I didn't even think twice about the word "magicians". "What do you mean _inhabit_?"

"Umm, before we tell you, just remember, we did not want this either."

"O...k...?" Ami asked.

"So, Almira and I _might_ have possessed your bodies to an extent."

For a moment there was a stunned silence.

"WHAT?"

Ami was furious. "You did WHAT?" I can't blame her, I was struggling with my fury and shock too. However, I've learned to control my emotions better than most people, which was the only reason I wasn't strangling Anubis right now. But if he made another comment like that, he _will_ find his air supply suddenly cut off.

"Now, now. It's not our fault."

That's not going to help.

Ami's temper just flared even more.

"Not your fault?" She scoffed. Despite her calm-ish reaction, her clenched fists trembled in anger, signaling she was going to punch someone. "You're frickin' possessing us." Yup, I'm right.

I sighed, without Percy here, it was up to me to cool Ami's oh-so-flammable temper and make sure she didn't break something. Or someone. That would be bad too. But if it was Anubis she was gonna hurt, I'll just quietly turn around and "accidentally" not see it. After all, can't prove what you didn't see.

"Ami," I said quietly. She just kept glaring at Anubis, who was beginning to shrink away from her forceful gaze. That's what'll happen eventually to her victims, buddy.

I put a hand on her shoulder, and kept talking in a deliberatly quiet voice. "He did say he didn't want it either."

She relaxed a little under my touch, which jis just more evidence Ami's weird. Most people wouldn't even willingly get close enough to touch me, much less _relax_ when I touch them. Death god's son and all.

Ami relented, "Fine." I sighed with relief. "But-" Damn. "It's on your head."

Oh, that's not too bad.

"K. Whatever." I shrugged.

She glared at me.

I glared (amused) back.

We had a silent Glare Fest.

"Hey!" Almira snapped her fingers in front of our faces. "Hey! Need I remind you we are on limited time?"

"Wait," Ami said slowly,"If you are in our heads, then...are you _gods_?"

"Umm, what do you modern people say? Is is "duh"?" Anubis inquired.

"I think it is." Almira comfirmed, looking like she was thinking hard.

"Then, duh! Girl aren't you supposed to be informed?"

"Oh _buuuuurn_."I muttered.

Ami turned to face me. "Oh, shut up."

"Make me."

"Ok." She raised a hand to attack me, and I wondered breifly how she would hit me while I got ready to defend myself.

"Hey! Focus!" Almira yelled. _Again_.

"Anyways, Almira and I share the title of Death and Jackals."

"How many death gods are there?" I wondered, genuinely interested.

"There's three**(you have no idea how hard it was to not add "like" in front of "three")**including us."**(How many are there?)**

"So you're saying no one was brave enough to do it by themselves?" Being a son of a Death God makes me automatically protective about things like this. It's a good/bad thing.

Anubis bristled, and replied scathing words I cannot repeat. Let's just say they involved tuna fish, cats, and my mom-oh he did _not_ just go there. For someone who doesn't know what "duh" means, he's very informed about swears. Heck, _I_ know most of the ones he named only because of Ami. And some of the ones he said weren't even in English. All in all, his wide vocabulary was very impressive.

"Boys!" Ami threw her hands up, disgusted. But I saw a flash of interest in her eyes before she closed them, scrubbing her face with her hands.

"Indeed." Almira rolled her eyes, equally exasperated.

"Yeah, so back on track. I'm Ami and that's Nico. We're-*" Ami sentence was abruptly cut off as we wrenched out of our talk. My vision played with my mind, blurring before sharpening and then fuzzying again.

I can't acurately explain what happened next. I found myself awake and talking to that guy-Amos he said his name was. But I wasn't doing anything. It was like someone else had taken control and was acting on its own accord.

I watched everything, watching myself introduce me as Anubis-wait what? Ok fun's over, I want my body back.

I stuggled against an invisible force, gaining control of my body again. "Lies! I'm Nico."

And then I wasn't in control again. "This is my host."

I decided that there was a difference between the two siblings and Ami and I's speech patterns. They didn't use modern slang, and spoke in a older formal dialect that was the norm a century or two ago. At least they weren't like Zoe, and actually knew what 'your' means, and not always spouting words like 'thou' and 'thy'. **

"What's a host?" I asked him, "Is he_ in my head_?"

Unfortunately for Amos I stopped listening after the first sentence. But hey, don't blame me, I had other stuff in my head.

(Gods=_italics_ Demigods=_**bold** **italics**_)

_Why yes, I am "in your head" as you put it. However that is not technically correct. We share bodies. Don't they teach you this stuff here?_

"Lovely." I muttered.

"What?" Amos looked taken back.

"Talking to Anubis." I pointed to my head. Then I realized Ami had been strangely quiet. When I glanced over I saw a look confused concentration, like whenever she was trying to understand anything school related. Oh the pains of not being a Athena child.

_She should be talking to my_ beloved_ sister right now. _So they had sarcasm back in his day too. Cool.

_What is this sarcasm? We used to call it...well, it's best not to tell little kids the name. _Hey, I am _fifteen_, and you totally cussed me at your death place what changed in the past ten minutes so that now you cant say cuss words to me?Woah, woah, woah, woah. Wait a minute.

**_You can read my thoughts?_**

_If I was in the mood and sorely needed entertainment, I could access every thought you have ever thought, and I could know everything you are currently thinking-however with_ your_ attention span, I highly doubt it._

**_Woah. Cool._**

I was jerked out of our conversation by the girl-_Sadie_, Anubis supplied-grabbing my shoulders.

"Did you call yourself Anubis?"

"Nooooo..." I dragged out the word, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh." She looked really cresantfallen. Like really creasantfallen. ***

(Ami POV)

(While you've been hearing Nico's side of the story, this is the continuation from my side.)

**_So, you're in my body?_**

_Yes_.

_**So why haven't you introduced yourself like Anubis did?**_

I heard a snort.

_Leave my fool of a brother to embarrass himself. That's his job. He should have been the God of Idiots. We just didn't have a word for it back in Ancient Egypt. _She snorted again. Can voices inside your heads that are actually gods snort?

_Yes, we can._

**_Ok normally I'd be flipping out because you can read my thoughts but you're like...in me. So I won't flip out._**

_That's a relief._

**_Was that sarcasm?_**

_Quite. You-hey! Anubis check this out!_

I started to respond, I was gonna say something like_ 'You know he can't hear you?' _When a voice spoke in my mind. A male voice.

_Check what out? _Oh dear Gods_._

_Look! _Almira's voice bounced with excitement and I could picture her face filled with glee._ This house was built on-_

_An Indian burial ground!_

**_That's what you're excited about? _**Another voice demanded.

_**Nico?**_

_**Yup**_. And so ends my sanity.

_**Ok, if those other guys start talking in my mind too, I will personally come into your weird death place and beat the living shit out of you two.**_

_Relax. _Almira tried, soothingly._ This is highly advanced magic that lets the users hold a conversation without speaking out loud. Usually we wouldn't need that, twin telepathy and all, but we felt you two would want to know._

They received two different answers. A sarcastic "Thanks" from Nico and a "Twin telepathy?" from me.

_Yes. Where do you think that silly mortal superstition came from? _

**_Hurtful, Anubis. Hurtful._**

_Sorry. _Anubis apoligized****, not sounding sorry at all.

**_Forgiven. _**I said, equally insincere.**_ Why are you guys so excited about this place being on top of an Indian burial ground anyways?_**

_We'll show you. _He said smugly.

My breath caught. A slightly uncomfortable feeling spread through my body as mist began rolling out of it. Cliché, I know. In a few seconds, Almira stood before me, stretching.

She viewed the room, taking in the family next to us, her brother, and Nico. "Ugh, humans are just so,...so living."

"Well!" I exclaimed, offended.

At this point, Sadie and Carter(Yes I paid attention to their names.) were fighting over something and Amos was absently drawing strange symbols in the air, sipping coffee.

_They are Eygptian._

I must have looked surprised because Almira hurried to explain._ I can still talk in your mind, even when I'm in the mortal world. _

**_How? _**

She scratched her head._ It's a bit complicated. Basically, I split myself. The majority of me is in you right now. Some of me is here, and the rest is in the Duat, taking care of the dead souls that need judging._

**_Oh! Like how Apollo drives the sun chariot and gets us pizza at the same time!_**

_Uhhhhh... Sure!_

_Hmm...maybe I should get pizza tonight._

_What is pizza?_

I gasped. "Nico!"

"What?" He asked sounding more than a little annoyed. Well, sorry, Mr.I-suddenly-don't-have-time-to-talk-to-friends.

"Almira doesn't know what pizza is!"

Instantly his irritation vanished. "What?"

"Yeah, I know right?"

"We have got to get to a pizza place."

"How about McDonald's?" I asked slyly.

"Does she know what that is?"

"I don't know." Mentally, I asked, **_Do you?_**

_No. How would I know about this_ McDonalds?_ Don't ask me ridiculous questions you already-_

"She says no." I looked at him sadly, trying to hide a smirk. I could feel Almira sulking about not being able to finish her tirade. Mentally, I rolled my eyes. Emo kids and their need to sulk in their emo corners.

"So does Anubis."

"Off to McDonalds!" I declared, pointing to the door.

We almost made it too.

* * *

><p><strong>*Who can guess what she was about to say?<strong>

****That was NOT a jibe at Zoe. Zoe's cool.**

*****How the heck do you spell creasantfallen?**

******I know that's not the correct spelling to apologized, I just don't have that magic spelling talent today. Sorry, someone comment and tell me how to correctly spell it. Or PM. I'm bored anyway.**

**I'm an evil soul to leave you there, but I do this for two reasons. A. My friend says I have a gray soul and a black heart, and B. I gotta keep you interested somehow! **

**Wow, Nico's got humor. Who knew? Good song by P!nk B.T.W.**

**3,333 words! Woot, woot!**

**Soooo...it has come to my attention Anubis has a wife named...Anput, I think it was. Yeah, it's Anput. So some sources say Anput was the female version of Anubis and if you really thought about it, Anubis would basically be married to himself. So I'm twisting the idea of Anput being his female version. Why her name's Almira, I'll just cover up with a clever lie I've already made up cause, hey it's FANFICTION!**

**Once again, I'm so sorry I haven't updated sooner. But like I said, I had stuff going on. Also we just got the news my grandpa had a stroke. :( Wish him luck!**

**Guess that's it! Music, out. :)**


	4. Christmas

***wince* ...Sorry? *dodges flying fruit* Okay, okay! I know. I'd give you a list, but I only have three words. Bitchtastic Writer's Block.**

***sigh* I should really stop making fics when I already have too many to update constantly and still get to do what I want. How do you people do it?**

**Music, out. :)**

* * *

><p>(Ami POV)<p>

"Holy Styx!" I yelped. The giant stone slab thing Carter had called a door crumbled. Only, it didn't really _crumble_. It shattered starting at the top with a giant _BOOOOOOOOOOMMM _as cement flew in our direction. I dodged one that was roughly the size of Nico's head, and a tiny arrowhead (go figure) nicked my cheek.

The force of the explosion sent us flying backwards a few feet. Instantly, before we even got up our swords were out and ready.

When we faced them, there were the standard Greek monsters, but... What the Hades were _those_?

I frowned, it was impossible I didn't know what they were. Chiron made us take an extensive Greek monster class after the Titan War. And then another one after GGWII. I sincerely hoped we wouldn't have another war, lest we be put through the opening line of 'Demigods, you need to learn of the monsters we faced, so you know what to do next time.' _Again._ The classes gave me a headache and made me feel like an Annabeth.

Those classes were like, and I quote Percy, 'Being in the Underworld for two solid weeks with Hades.' Of course, after that, he and Nico had a big debate about how bad that was. But, the point is, practically any monster I could recognize. Yet here they were, all snaky and unidentified.

I looked around for Sadie and Carter, who had inexplicablely disappeared, leaving two teens with swords, two animals, and a whole bunch of monsters. What do you think is gonna happen?

"So," I said, slashing at a monster too full of himself. He burst into a shower of golden dust without even a wail. Nico and I crouched, beginning to circle and giving us an all-angle view of the ring of monsters surrounding us. Yippee. "What now?"

He looked at me like I was stupid. "We use our super awesome kick-ass demigod powers! Duh!"

I laughed. "I haven't heard you talk like that since your mythomagic days."

Sticking his tongue out at me, Nico stabbed his sword into the floor, cleaving through it like butter. I figured that would leave some kind of scar. This was not a good day for the house. First the door and now the floor. A rumble underneath our feet and suddenly, _poof_! Six fierce, bleach white and, honestly, _terrifying_ skeletons rose from the ground, not a speck of debris on them.

Well, _that_ must save cleaning time.

I concentrated. Where was the nearest water source? I remembered the river not to far away and felt the familiar tugging in my gut.

"Get ready," I mumbled to Nico. "Tsunami in about five seconds."

He nodded, before adding the words, "Make sure my super awesome kick-ass skeletons don't get washed away."

I rolled my eyes, exasperated. "Is that what we're calling them now?"

"Yup. You can call yours 'super awesome kick-ass water powers'."

"Wonderful." I said sarcastically.

Just then, a rumbling-a lot louder than the previous one-and suddenly, a crash roared in my ears.

Water plopped the room suddenly, like ice-cream in a bowl. Seemingly alive, it split unevenly into smaller waves and, under my command, wrapped themselves around the monsters Nico's skeletons hadn't taken care of yet. Focusing on the task at hand, I jumped when I felt tongues of heat, violently trying to put out my flaming sleeve.

"Today was a really bad day to wear nylon!" I yelped, finally managing to put out the fire. I twisted my head, looking at the charred remains. In a few seconds, the sleeve, having used to be hanging loosely at my elbow, was now burnt black to my shoulder. I sniffed, smelling an unpleasant odor I later learned was the singed hair on my arm.

Abruptly, a snake...thing with wings spat fire at me. A silky cocoon, previously enveloping one of the fire breathing snake's brethren, let go of the monster with a splat and made a barrier between me and the rapidly approaching flames. It hissed and sizzled, and steam quickly disappeared.

Free of any distraction, I watched the wall of water take the snake, who was trying to flap its soggy wings, spraying water around it. I swear, before all sound was obliviated, it hissed a wail, sounding like words in snake. Probably, "Noooooooo! Not again!" Like in the movies.

Satisfied, I snapped my fingers and the monsters were squeezed down a bottomless hole Nico had managed to create. I watched as they were flattened, smiling sadistically.

"You are turning into me," Nico remarked.

I gasped dramatically, "Oh no!" I clutched his aviator's jacket, faking tears. "Please help me," I said tearfully. "I'm turning into Nico!"

"Very funny," he said, a playful scowl on his lips.

"I know. I should be a comedian when I grow up."

"Suuuuuure."

Somewhere, a giant toilet refused to flush.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "What-"

Snake monsters were spit out of the hole. Then, the strangest thing happened. Two smaller holes bored themselves into the ground, right above the first hole, like eyes. The eyes looked at me resentfully as the hole Nico had made turned down, like a mouth.

"I'm not crazy, right? You see that too, right?" I asked.

"Yup. I see it too, so you're not crazy. Or we're both delusional."

A monster decided to lunge at us at that moment. Bastard. I fumbled for my sword. It almost hit my face when I heard a sharp command in a foreign language.

I whirled around to see Sadie dramatically standing as a crack of blue energy smacked the thing right in his face, he had just enough time to yowl resentfully before he disintegrated.

Carter, who had appeared from nowhere, helped demolish them too, cleaning up where Sadie didn't.

I stared at them. "Where'd you learn that?" I demanded.

"Much experimenting and somewhat loose information from our cat guardian." Sadie informed me offhandedly.

I blinked, choosing the only part of the sentence I managed to pick up. "You have a cat guardian?"

"Mhm."

"Can you get her here?"

"Problem." Carter confessed, "We just searched the entire mansion for her. She's not here."

"Can't you summon her or something?"

Sadie glared at me, "How? Am I supposed to stomp my feet going around the room yelling _Abrakadabra_?"

I glared back, "I don't know! You're the one doing magic!"

_Try calling for her._ Almira advised.

**_How_?**

_Hmm...I do not know._

**_That's just great._**

_Maybe I can contact her... _

I felt her slip away.

A few agonizing seconds passed.

"Well?" Sadie asked impatiently.

"Give it a few seconds."

Totally out of the blue, something flashed, golden bright in front of eyes.

_Sorry it took so long,_ Almira apologized. _She was being difficult._

It was only a few seconds. I informed her, blinking bright spots away.

_Really? On my side it was an hour._

**_Well, had it been an hour on my side too, it would have been too late, now wouldn't it?_**

_Touché._

The spots faded and when normal vision returned, I saw a cat, grooming its right paw.

I rolled my eyes, "If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself."

_Ooh, Kitty isn't going to like-_

Then _another_ explosion happened, knocking me off my feet.

As soon as I picked myself off the floor, another round of explosions set off, sending me onto my butt again. I glared at the offending snake monsters looking menacing at us, picking myself up _again_.

"Of course. My day isn't complete until fifty gazillion explosion interrupt it."

_That._ Almira finally finished.

_**Who's **_**Kitty**_**?**_

_Wait for it._ I waited until the dust cleared, revealing a small lady in a leapord-skin jumpsuit.

That's_ Kitty._

**_She puts a whole 'nother definition on 'cat lady'._**

I watched as she leapt from Snake Number 1 to Snake Number 2, efficiently finishing them off as she purred insults at them. Literally.

Soon, they were just a tangled mess. The woman cut their heads off.

Her knives shot up her sleeves, and I decided she was definitely a goddess.

"You," she pointed a finger at Nico, "You reek of dog."

I was about to snicker when she pointed a finger at me too, "You too."

"Excuse me?" I asked, offended.

"You smell of dog. Have you been near the dogs lately?"

Almira took control of my body. "Don't. Call. Me. A. Dog." She hissed, using my voice.

"Calm down." Nico-Anubis?-advised, though he didn't look much better. The expression on his face was downright murderous.

"I am calm." Almira snapped.

"So why are you showing your teeth?" I noticed that I (she?) was indeed baring my teeth. No, really. Was it she or I or...? This god stuff is so confusing.

"It's a common dog reaction." the woman replied, amused. "Almira, give the poor human her body back."

Almira realized what she was doing and relinquished her control. I stopped baring my teeth. "Sorry 'bout that." I apologized.

Sadie cut in. "This is great and everything, but can we like, get moving?"

She turned her attention to them. "Yes, we must get moving. Sadie, can you open a portal into the Duat?"

Sadie groaned, "I still suck at it if I don't have a portal."

"Umm...the Duat?" I asked, raising my hand.

Cat Woman nodded.

"Do you mean the place with Ammit and stuff?"

Cat Lady spoke distastefully. "That is in the Duat, yes."

"Well then, snap your fingers and get us there!"

She looked troubled. "It's not that simple...what's your name?"

Impatiently, I gave her my name.

"Right, Ami. It's not that simple Ami. In the mortal world, our powers are reduced to a fourth of what they'd be in the Duat. Besides, I'm horrible at multi-person portals."

"Mhm. That's great and all, but, today's Christmas and you do not want to miss Christmas with the Jacksons." Nico said urgently.

"Blue cake." I said wistfully.

"Blue cake," he agreed.

The woman blinked, then had the nerve laughed, "You'll be killed within your first block down the street."

I grinned, "We'll stay alive."

"How?" She asked skeptically.

I unclipped my barrette. It was a large butterfly that I usually clipped to a belt loop on my jeans. Yeah, 'You're supposed to put it in your hair yada, yada, yada'. Well, my hair's way too thick too have the small little barrette hold it all back and if I can't hold everything back out of my face, it's basically useless in the hair department. Besides, who wears barrettes anyways? That's right-no one. So stop yanking my chain.

I rotated the head of the butterfly and it became a celestial bronze sword. Nico unsheathed his sword. How she missed the fact Nico had a _sword buckled to his belt_, I have no idea. "We're demigods." I answered, still grinning. "We can handle a few monsters."

The lady paled, "Oh gods." She muttered under her breath, I caught the words 'Romans' and a few choice words as well. Hey, we might be able to speak Latin with a little time, but we are _Greeks_.

She sighed, obviously frustrated. "Come on, we have to go return you two before the entire Roman pantheon tries to kill us." She grabbed us by our arms. I winced, the lady had sharp fingernails.

I didn't like the way she said _return_ like we were faulty store appliances that she didn't want anymore.

We rushed outside, when the woman suddenly stopped in the middle of the sidewalk, causing a chain reaction of bumping children.

"Where to go..." I heard her mutter.

Are you serious? I thought, we're running for our lives, and you're lost?

_Cats_, Almira said distastefully. _So unreliable._

For some reason, I couldn't really bring myself to like the lady all that much. If I had to make a guess, it would either be that I was not a cat person, or Almira was unintentionally influencing me. My money was on that one.

The thought frightened me. I wondered what else Almira could influence. One day, you're hating on cats, then one thing leads to another and soon you're sucking on a bone, sniffing dog butts.

Something else that unsettled me, the way the cat goddess had reacted to us being demigods, almost as if she wasn't Greek. Could there be other pantheons? The Romans didn't count, they were still our gods. But after today, I wouldn't be surprised if there were.

She swung her head from side to side, probably 'making an educated guess of where to go' like Annabeth likes to call it. Which Percy always dumbs down to 'We're lost'.

Yup, I decided, most Greek gods would rather eat their foot than admit they were lost.

Besides, Greek gods were more dignified. At least, most of them were. Apollo and Hermes...that was a different story.

Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed several people carrying boomerangs and totally decked out in cotton pajamas like Carter and Sadie.

"Umm, guys? Please tell me I'm not wrong when I assume those guys over there are your friends." I asked weakly.

One glance at their faces was enough to convince me otherwise.

"So...too good to be true?" I guessed.

The lady sighed, "Our relationship with the House of Life is a little complicated right now."

"It always has been." Carter muttered.

Well, if Carter, the least aggressive one, was annoyed, then these House of Life people must be real jerks.

"So, what now?"

"We run."

We ran like there was no tomorrow.

"I think we lost them." I panted between breaths. We had run all the way from there to some museum.

"Why are we here?" Nico asked. "Inside a...what is this? A temple?"

"It's the closest gateway," the woman defended.

"It's too late, wretched goddess." a voice cackled.

I looked around. We had been ambushed. Which so wasn't fair because they'd appeared out of nowhere. The speaker was a woman drawing her boomerang thing. At least, I think it was a boomerang. Hey, they could be metal bananas for all I know!

I ruined her moment by asking, "Overdramatic much?"

She glared at me. I smiled innocently at her.

"Magicians." I heard Sadie mutter.

The woman began barking orders, "Sadie! Get started on that portal! High noon is in a minute!"

"Cat Woman," I asked, "Can you fight?"

A little miffed, she nodded stiffly. "My name is Bast for future reference."

"Great. Cover us."

Nico and I charged.

"Since they're not wearing armor, does that mean we have to go easy on them?" Nico inquired, raising an eyebrow.

I thought for a moment, "If they hit you, go all out."

He grinned, "Awesome." I rolled my eyes. Knowing him, he'd probably purposely get hit just so he could mortally wound someone.

Without mortally wounding, I slashed my way through the small band of...what had Sadie called them? Magicians. Right.

"It's open!" Sadie yelled.

To my right, I saw Carter swing a strange curved sword onto his back. I noticed, astonished, that the boy didn't impale himself on the sword.

When I saw the portal, I stopped dead in my tracks. It was a vertical line of sand.

"That's the portal? It's a waterfall of sand! That's a _sandfall._"

"Just jump!" Bast shouted.

Scrunchig up my nose, I held my breath and stepped through the portal after Nico. I was plunged into darkness. Sand scratched my face as desert winds whipped across my skin. I winced. _Ouch_.

"Oomph!" I landed on something warm and soft.

"Ow." Nico grumbled underneath me.

"Sorry." I got off of him, brushing the sand off my pants.

I heard a whistling above my head and dived to the side.

"Ow!" And, "I hate portals!" sounded with a thud.

And there's Carter and Sadie.

* * *

><p>"So," Sally put down her cup of coffee, "Let me get this straight. You wandered out for a walk, got lost, somehow ended up in Brooklyn, and stayed the night with these people." she gestured at the three sitting awkwardly on a couch.<p>

I kept my head down, looking at the worn leather of the couch I usually slept on. I mean what were you supposed to say in a situation like this?

_Yeah, that's about right. Oh, by the way, while I was there I was possessed by a Egyptian emo death god._

Yeah, that would have worked out well.

Sally sighed, "At least you're safe."

That's one of Sally's many good points. She can never stay made for long. I smiled a little.

I lifted my head to see Percy with an odd expression on his face, like he was trying to remain in his seat and deciding between strangling or hugging us. Both options made me uneasy.

"Thanks, Aunt Sally." I said softly. That appeased her. Her face softened.

She got up, clapping her hands. "Who wants hot chocolate?"

At the same time, Percy, Nico, and I raised our hands, practically screaming, "Me!"

She laughed, a wind-chime sound that brought back my best memories. Apollo and Hermes chasing me around Olympus when I was little, seeing Atlantis with my dad-yes, _the sunken Atlantis_, going to Camp Half-Blood, and so many more.

Sally looked at Bast, Sadie, and Carter. "Do you want any?"

Bast shook her head.

Sadie, oblivious, said, "That would be nice."

I was almost speechless. Sadie? Polite? I hadn't known her for long, but it was pretty obvious being polite was a foreign concept to Sadie.

Sally looked at Carter.

"Yes please." He said shyly.

Well, at least _someone_ was in character today.

While Sally went to go do that, I turned to the two siblings. "So..." I said awkwardly.

"Can I ask a few questions?" Carter asked, looking mildly interested.

I waved my hand lazily. "Ask away."

"Are you really demigods?" Sadie blurted out.

I blinked. She was actually listening. _Good. There is still hope for you yet, little one._

Nico came to my rescue. "Yeah. Aren't you?"

She looked taken aback. "I don't think so."

Nico shrugged, "Only one way to find out."

He took his sword out of the sheath, making Sadie's eyes go to just above the size of golf balls. Carter's hand flew to his sword. I lunged forward, pushing my hand onto his where it was still drawing his sword.

"No." I hissed.

"He's gonna kill my sister!" protested Carter.

"No he's not." I reassured him.

"Suuuuuuuurrre."

Turning to Nico, I sighed. "Can't you explain before you do something that looks mildly threatening?"

"Nope." He flipped his sword, grabbing it by the hilt again and making Carter and Sadie back away nervously. I rolled my eyes. Show-off.

"Of course not. That's what you have smart friends for."

"You mean Annabeth?" He smiled 'innocently' at me.

"Oh, give up the innocent act, Deathboy. We all know you're anything but innocent."

Nico pouted, "Darn."

"Annabeth is smarter though." Percy cut in. Woah, almost forgot about him.

I rolled my eyes, "Whatever. Anyways, Nico wasn't gonna hurt you. The blade would have gone straight through you if you were mortal, leaving you unharmed. Mortals just aren't important enough for the celestial bronze to kill."

"Gee," Carter mumbled. "Thanks."

I flushed, realizing how that sounded. "Sorry."

Always the gentleman, he said, "It's ok."

"I'm bored." Nico said suddenly.

I stared at him, "What'da you want me to do about it?"

"Something."

"Too bad."

"Are you two dating?" Sadie asked flippantly.

Percy snickered.

Nico coughed, as if he was choking. "_Why? Why must everyone ask that?_"

My cheeks blossomed bright red. "Too far!" I yelled.

"Just asking." shrugged Sadie.

Bast snorted, "The dog. Getting a girlfriend. That'll be the day."

I glanced over at her, she was prying open a can of Friskies-that she had supposedly conjured with her godly powers-with one of her abnormally sharp fingernails.

"Do I want to know?" I questioned, turning to face Carter.

"Nooooo." He shook his head.

"Alright then."

Sally came back with a platter of hot chocolate. We all eagerly took a mug.

"Anyways," I said, warming my hands on the close-to-steaming mug. "If you're not demigods, what are you?"

Bast blew on the cup of coffee Sally made for her. "We're Egyptians."

Had Nico not slipped his fingers into the handle of his mug, it would have shattered. Instead, it just splattered on him. And me.

I yelped, the steaming liquid had created more pain than it should have. I swear on the gods I heard it sizzle. I looked at my arm. That's when I learned about my flesh having been burnt by that...snake thing. The hot chocolate had splattered on the pink skin.

"Sorry!" He cried automatically.

I gritted my teeth, ignoring the burning on my arm. "It's... Fine." I managed to spit out.

Percy stood up. "I'm getting a cup of water."

"Get me a cold one!" I yelled.

He waved a hand back in my general direction, showing he heard. In the meantime, I blew on the brown stains on my arm.

"What was that, dude?" I asked.

He glanced at me before returning to getting the stains out of his aviator's jacket. "Nothing. I just realized why Anubis's name was so familiar."

I rolled my eyes, "Of course. The death god's son knows a death god."

"Hey!" He protested, "It's not my fault! It's basically my job!"

I patted his head condescendingly. "If you say so, Nico. If you say so."

He scowled at me.

"Well, you certainly don't get paid, and the last time I checked, people were paid to do jobs." Percy put in.

"Told ya." I said, satisfied.

"Shut up." He growled.

"Why should I?"

"Because I said so."

"Well, that's hardly a prop-"

"Who wants cookies?" Sally interrupted.

"I do!" We shouted at her retreating figure.

Percy came back with two glasses of water, "I've got dibs on the first batch."

"Hades no!" I exclaimed, taking the cold glass.

"That batch is mine." Nico agreed.

I turned to him with narrowed eyes. "Mine!"

He opened his mouth, but never got to say anything.

"Can't you guys just wait for another batch to bake?"

We all turned to Carter incredulously, who had furrowed his eyebrows in concentration.

"No!" We cried.

"Those things are way too good." I started.

"Just ask Percy, he's been eating them his whole life." Nico finished.

"He's such a lucky guy." I muttered. Nico nodded in agreement.

"You guys are nuts." Carter decided.

"You don't understand." I protested.

"Yeah," Percy backed me up. "They. Are. Delicious."

"Yup." I said. Nico shifted next to me and I yelped.

"What?" He asked. I brought my arm out delicately from my side. There was a big angry splotch where the hot chocolate had landed.

Nico looked at it, "Oops."

I shrugged, "Hand me my water."

Sadie reached for it, she made a very feminine 'Eep!' before handing it to me. "Why is that so cold?" she demanded.

"Well, you see, Sadie," I said in a slow voice, "Percy put these cube things in the water. We call it _ice,_ it makes stuff _cold."_

She scowled at me.

I poured the water on my arm, sighing happily as it cooled the skin.

"Are you nuts?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged, "You'll find that most demigods are crazy in one way or another."

"Besides," Percy said, "If you think _Ami's_ crazy, You've never met some of our friends."

"Like Dakota," I said conversationally, "He gets drunk on _Kool-Aid. Kool-Aid._" I repeated for emphasis.

"It's hilarious." Nico added.

The throbbing in my arm abruptly switched off, and my arm turned back to its usual bronze color.

"Cookies are done!" Sally called. Immediately, my brother, my cousin, and I dropped everything and rushed over to the tray of steaming cookies. We all shoved one into our mouths, and, I don't know about the other two, but I almost burned my tongue in the process.

"Mmm," I licked the gooey chocolate off my fingers, a small blissed-out smile on my face. "I love Christmas."

When the tray had sufficiently cooled down, by which time half the cookies were gone, I took it and slammed it down in front of Sadie and Carter, giving them a stern look.

"Now," I said, "we must educate you." I handed them each a cookie.

I wish I had a camera to capture their expressions.

They each stole a couple more, and even Bast tentatively took one, barely holding between her thumb and pointer finger, like it was a dead rat with rabies instead of a I'm-going-to-rock-your-world Christmas cookie.

I'd always gotten a weird nostalgic feeling whenever I saw something happen in real life that looked like it belonged on a Hallmark card, or something just something you'd consider stereotypically family-ish but never really saw in real life, so as everyone squabbled over the magic cookies (even Bast, who'd succumbed to the power of the cookie) I couldn't help but wear a grin on my face as the nostalgia feeling blossomed in my chest, like a beautiful flower unfurling.

This was Christmas.

This was _family_.

* * *

><p><strong>I hope this made up for the disappointing wait. If it didn't...well, I'm dreadfully sorry.<strong>

**Music, out. :)**


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